For its fight against light pollution, the city of Fulda in eastern Hesse has been honored as Germany's first dark sky municipality by the International Dark Sky Association in the USA. Fulda Mayor Heiko Wingenfeld (CDU) said: "A large part of light pollution is avoidable, and we want to set an example for other municipalities with intelligent solutions." Light pollution refers to the brightening of the night sky by artificial light sources whose light radiates into the atmosphere.
Daniel Schreiner (independent), the city's planning officer, explained that too much light, and above all the wrong kind of light in cold light colours, has been proven to affect the lives of many nocturnal species, disturb plants and damage people's health. It is easy to use artificial light according to location and need, he said. "In this way, you can avoid light pollution, reduce costs and contribute to climate protection by saving energy."
Following Fulda's application, the International Dark Sky Association awarded the city the title in January. According to the information, Fulda is the fifth municipality in Europe. Worldwide, Fulda is even the second largest city to receive this status.
Source: dpa Feb 12, 2019
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